As special counsel Robert Mueller builds his case, relatives of former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn are among those pressing the president to use his unique legal power and ‘put these defendants out of their misery.’

HAPPY THANKSGIVING to our American friends and friends of the United States. I’m thankful to all of you for taking the time to be part of the Playbook community. Keep the tips, criticisms and your birthday dates coming!

The scenarios are many: Schulz becoming Germany’s chancellor in 2017; the center-right EPP running the European Parliament; the scandal-plagued Günther Oettinger losing his secondary layer of cover in the Parliament. The biggest question: will Germans believe they are really Schulz’s first choice?

STAT DU JOUR: £122,000,000,000 — that’s the Brexit price tag for the U.K. in the form of extra government borrowing that Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond (also known as “Spreadsheet Phil”) announced in his budget forecast Wednesday.

**A message from the EPP Group: “CETA should go ahead as soon as possible to create jobs,” said Artis Pabriks, European Parliament rapporteur on the EU-Canada trade deal, after MEPs yesterday cleared the way for ratification. The filibustering and delaying tactics of the extreme left and right were firmly defeated. Time to get our facts straight on CETA.**

EU-UKRAINE SUMMIT TODAY: There’s not much to celebrate, writes Andrew Reitman. EU ambassadors have agreed to visa-free access to the union for Ukrainians and for the EU to continue to uphold sanctions against Russia. Beyond that, the EU is “preparing to release another €600 million in aid on Thursday to invest in transport infrastructure,” despite ongoing concern about graft among the country’s leadership class.

COUNCIL — COLORFUL CHANGES: Check out these photos of the new home for EU leaders summits, courtesy of the incoming Malta EU presidency, published by Euractiv.

EXCLUSIVE — UBER’S FRENCH COMPLAINT ON HOLD FOR NOW: Uber’s complaint about France restricting their business has been put on ice by CommissionPresident Jean-Claude Juncker’s team until after the French presidential election.

That’s despite European single market commissioner Elzbieta Bienkowska declaring the case legally ready (it has been since the summer) and it having the support of transport Commissioner Violeta Bulc, and the two relevant Vice Presidents Jyrki Katainen and Andrus Ansip.

The crunch point, according to POLITICO’s sources, was Juncker’s Chief of Staff Martin Selmayr telling Uber lobbyists to get their tax and labor issues in order before expecting Commission legal action at a November 8 meeting. The Commission, meanwhile, responded by saying it “decides on infringements cases based on their merits and legal complexity, not for political reasons.”

OETTINGER-WATCH …

OETTINGER TO FACE QUESTIONS IN PARLIAMENT, BUT NO VOTE: The digital commissioner tapped to take over the European Commission’s budget portfolio won’t face a confirmation vote.

Some MEPs wanted to grill Oettinger more broadly and argued for a vote. But as my colleagues note: “Even without a vote, it could be difficult to control the questioning of Oettinger once it begins.”

The former energy commissioner first stirred controversy after making provocative statements about gay marriage and Chinese people and then because of revelations that he flew on a lobbyist’s private plane last spring to an official meeting in Budapest.

In 2017, the rules will change and when a sitting commissioner takes on a new portfolio, they will require a vote confirmation.

**Olivier Guersent, director-general for financial stability, financial services and capital markets union at the European Commission, headlines POLITICO’s Morning Exchange Liveevent. Presented by Deutsche Börse, it will take place on December 7 in Brussels. Seating is limited. Request an invitation. **

TIMMERMANS REFUSES TO ANSWER OETTINGER QUESTIONS: Commission First Vice-President Frans Timmermans walked out of a press conference on development policy when journalists began to ask about Oettinger and the Commission code of conduct. Watch here.

SMILE SURPRISE: “Vote for Me” is rarely a charming demand. But it is in this music video featuring MEP Angelika Milnar who would like to remain a vice president of the liberal ALDE party.

ECJ — UPSET WIN FOR NGOs IN PESTICIDE CASE: The European Court of Justice has ruled in favor of a group of NGOs including Greenpeace and PAN Europe, seeking greater access to confidential industry studies on the authorization process of pesticides (such as glyphosate). This decision upset the industry.

CLARIFICATION: In Wednesday’s Playbook we inadvertently suggested Poland’s Jaroslaw Kacynski is seeking Moscow’s policy support, rather than standing up to Russia, as described in this article by Paul Taylor.

TRADE — FINLAND AND RUSSIA TRADE COMMISSION MEETS FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 3 YEARS: Formerly known as the Intergovernmental Commission for Economic Cooperation, the ministerial-level body has meet 14 times since it was set up in 1992, but has been in the deep freeze since 2013 thanks to sanctions.

A Brexit thought: Playbook wonders if the U.K. could copy this model as a way of engaging in pre-Brexit trade talks. If it’s legal for Finland …

TRADE — HOW DO BIG TRADE DEALS COMPARE IN VALUE: A nice chart can help put the TTIPs, CETAs and ASEANs in perspective. h/t Magnus Rydén

EURO-DOLE, A GERMAN INITIATIVE BERLIN HATES: “In the eyes of most Europeans, the EU is cold and remote … To survive and flourish, the EU must become more directly relevant to the people of Europe — and there is a way to do it,” explains Giles Merritt.

GERMANY — FAKE NEWS WARNING FROM MERKEL: German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Wednesday that the spread of fake news on social media platforms is contributing to the rise of “populism and political extremes” in Western democracies.

FRANCE — IS THATCHERITE FILLON A REFORMER OR A SLOGANEER? Pierre Briançon finds more rhetoric than reform. “A close look at his economic platform reveals that apart from catchy headline numbers on spending and tax cuts, Fillon’s plan fails to address the French economy’s fundamental flaws or put forward the type of structural reforms economists have long said were needed for growth to pick up.”

LITHUANIA — NEW PRIME MINISTER CHOSEN: This happened Tuesday, apologies for missing it in Wednesday’s Playbook. Former police chief Saulius Skvernelis, 46, backs calls from U.S. President-elect Donald Trump for more defense spending from NATO’s EU members. He leads the Peasants and Greens Union, “an unorthodox grouping of farmers and environmentalists that lean left on economic issues but to the right on social issues.”

ESTONIA — NEW GOVERNMENT SWORN IN: The Center Party’s Jüri Ratas becomes the Baltic country’s prime minister in coalition with the Social Democrats and the conservative IRL party. List of ministers here.

GREECE — TENSIONS WITH ALBANIA OVER CHAM MINORITY: Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama said on Greek TV that the countries remain in “a theoretical state of war” over Albania’s Cham minority who were exiled from Greece after World War II.

BULGARIA — CURRENT PRESIDENT CAN’T CALL SNAP ELECTIONS: The country’s Constitutional Court ruled that outgoing President Rosen Plevneliev cannot call elections in the last three months of his mandate, but may form a caretaker government.

FOCUS ON MALTA …

GOVERNMENT ISSUES MOST RESIDENCE PERMITS PER CAPITA IN WORLD: Malta issues more than 23 first-time residence permits per thousand people in the population. Cyprus is second, with more than 18 issued per thousand; Poland third with more than 14; Sweden fourth with more than 11; and the U.K. fifth with more than 9.

Latest nominations: South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, 44, as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Haley is a Republican rising star who opposed Trump and who reportedly felt inspired to run for office by Hillary Clinton.

Welcome to Washington’s new normal: “For Donald Trump, little is more intoxicating and affirming of his own power than creating tornadoes and watching them tear across the landscape,” writes the Washington Post. It’s just one Trump drama after another.

**A message from the EPP Group: We have asked Ukraine for tough reforms and they have delivered. They have fulfilled the 72 criteria the EU set for visa liberalization and they are the best example that reforms do indeed pay off. The EU will not go below this standard for visa liberalization for any other country. Only a few days after the anniversary of Maidan, the EU confirms that the people who fought for freedom then did not fight for nothing. The EU is expected to acknowledge today the substantial progress made by Ukraine and to reaffirm the EU’s support for Ukraine’s independence and territorial integrity.**